Checkmate!
by LeatherWingedAngel
Summary: Simply put, this is the sequel to If This Is Just Chess Blahblahblah. Fricken long title. Anyway, it's a TakumaXoc story rated M for language and later citrusy yummies. If you haven't read Chess you'll be totally lost. Read that first. Reviews/messages
1. Chapter 1

"Your family shall perish. You shall no longer be under the protection of my kind. Do you know what that means? All your power is gone Kaname. This ends here, with you and me. The last of my kind and you. Takuma, please hand me your sword." My words dripped with malice as I reached towards Takuma's sword.

Just as my fingers touched the hilt, Kaname jumped up and dove from the window.

"Shit!" I ran to the window and looked out, prepared to jump after him but he was already gone.

"It's alright Kie, we'll find him," Kiyo growled from behind me.

"She's right Kieko-chan. We'll find him, he can't have gotten far." I felt Takuma's hand on my shoulder, his sword already put away.

"We'll have to hunt for him. He's smart enough to be well away from here and will be going into hiding," I sighed, shaking my head and leaning closer to Takuma.

Suddenly I heard Kiyo giggle from behind us.

"I'll meet you two downstairs when you're ready ok?"

Before either of us could respond she was gone, the door shut tight behind her.

I looked up at Takuma, remembering my revelation. He loved me. A heavy blush overtook my cheeks and I bit my bottom lip, stepping away from him a bit.

"Thank you for helping... for fighting Kaname. I know it must have been hard becau..." I was cut off by his lips pressing to mine.

At first I was shocked. I just stood there for a second before I threw my arms around his shoulders and returned his kiss with the same fervor.

When he pulled away, his face was as red as a tomato.

"Forgive me Kie-chan I just... when I thought you were going to die I thought I would never get the chance to tell you how I feel and I just... I'm so glad you're still alive." His voice shook like he was on the edge of tears and that brought me to tears.

"It's alright," I smiled, wiping at my eyes as I lay my head on his shoulder. "Everything is alright now. It will all be ok."

He let out a short laugh and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, keeping me pressed to his body.

"Shouldn't you be the one crying and having me console you and tell you everything will be ok?

Laughing, I nodded. "Yeah, that's generally the way things go. But we should get back to... Oh god you're skipping classes!" My eyes widened as I pulled away from him a bit.

"Does that surprise you?"

"Um yeah. A lot! We have to get you back to classes and Kiyo and I need to plot. I never thought I would be grateful for going through all those wars with her." I shook my head, a wry smile on my lips.

"Wars?" Takuma looked at me with a mix of fear and confusion on his face.

"If I'm not against vampires I'm a pretty formidable fighter. But yes, wars. I'll tell you some other time." I grabbed his hand, interlacing our fingers and pulled him along behind me as I made my way down to find Kiyo.

We found her hunting through the closet we once kept our coats in.

"Kie! All your things are still here! Do you want to take some back to the academy? We could use some of this!" Her head popped out with a lopsided grin on her lips. She held up a trench coat that was once my fathers and offered it to me.

"I know you miss him," she said, smiling serenely, "and I remember seeing some of your favorite memories were with him in this coat. We're pretty much going to war again and I think it's fitting that you wear this coat."

I tensed slightly, smiling sadly. "Yeah, you're right. He went to war so many times in that coat..." I trailed off as my hands reached out, taking the smooth leather from her. Pressing it to my face I inhaled deeply, I could still smell his cologne.

*~*Memories*~*

"Kieko! I bet you can't find me!" My father's rich voice floated up the stairs to where I lay on the library floor.

With a laugh I jumped up and ran down the stairs, already knowing where he was.

I made my way to the garden to find him in another trench wearing the leather coat.

"Daddy! Mommy told you not to dig any more trenches. You know she hates when we play war!" I scolded him, my hands on my small hips as I stood a few feet away.

His only response was to fling dirt at me before changing forms to that of a black dragon the size of a large dog.

I laughed before changing to my own, smaller dragon form and charged into him.

*~*Present*~*

I laughed as the memory flashed through my head, knowing Kiyo could see it as well. Father was the reason I caught on so quickly to the things Kiyo taught me. I had forgotten them when we were attacked simply because they had been play back then. I hadn't had to rely on them to survive. Now I had a whole no ordeal to survive and Daddy wasn't here to help but I was going to make him damn proud of me.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time we got back to Cross Academy the classes had ended for the night and the rest of the students had gone to bed. Knowing Kaname wouldn't be coming back here I decided it would be safe for us all to go to bed. Little did I know that they had decided they weren't leaving my side for anything less than bathroom usage.

I sat on my bed in front of Takuma, who had his arms wrapped around my waist, and looked down at Kiyo who was lying on my floor with a sigh.

"You know, you guys don't have to stay with me." I raised an eyebrow at the wolf that just wagged her tail at me.

"Of course we know that but after this, do you really think we'd leave you alone?"

"She has a point," Takuma murmured in my ear, causing me to shiver a bit and lean back against his chest a bit more.

Seeing this Kiyo barked out a laugh.

"_No now getting all naughty while I'm in the room," _she teased in my mind.

I blushed and jerked away from Takuma a bit to glare down at her.

"You think you're so funny don't you, Mutt?" I growled, shifting into what she taught me was a play-bow.

Seeing this, she jumped up into a similar position, her tail wagging in the air.

"Yea, I really do, you overgrown lizard!"

I lunged at her, my body changing to that of a dragon even as hers changed into a wolf. I matched her size and tackled her to the ground, my scaled tail wagging as happily as her furry one.

Takuma jumped up and backed against a wall, clearly afraid that I was attacking my best friend.

I stopped my assault to look back at him, grinning as best a dragon can.

"_It's just play, Ta-kun,"_ I assured him just as Kiyo tackled into my side, throwing me to the ground.

I flared my wings, flipping us into the air before tackling into her with a playful roar. We sped apart and dropped back into play-bow. Our fronts were pressed tight to the floor, our rears high in the air as our tails wagged.

We remained frozen like that for what seemed like an eternity before she dove at me. She came in low but I knew what she was planning and shot to the left, keeping even lower as she tried to shoot up under me.

This went on for a few minutes before we collapsed, returning to human form and lay sprawled across my floor laughing.

Takuma remained against the wall staring at us as if we were crazy, which only caused us to laugh harder.

"It's alright Ta-kun. Really. Its how we relax to plot." I tried my hardest to assure him between gasps of laughter.

He nodded a bit and sat down beside me, playing with my hair.

I let out a contented growl and closed my eyes.

"Hey!" Kiyo yelped.

"You can't put her to sleep! I need her awake! We have to plot!"

As soon as the word plot was out of her mouth I tensed, sitting up away from his soothing touch.

"She's right," I smiled sadly and turned to face her. I snapped my fingers and there was a large map of Cross Academy and the surrounding area before us.

"So it's a safe bet he isn't here at the Academy anymore," I said, my voice cold as I placed a small black chip over the school grounds.

Kiyo nodded, studying the map for a few moments before Takuma surprised us both.

"I don't think he'd be here," he pointed to a rather large estate only a few miles south. "It's his family home but he knows I'm in cahoots with you. He won't go anywhere that any of us in the Night Class will know."

I nodded, placing another black chip over the indicated estate.

"So what does that leave us?"

"Well place a chip here, here, there, and there. Those are the family homes of Aidou Hanabusa, Kain Akatsuki, Shiki Senri, Rima Touya, and Sohen Ruka, the rest of the Night Class."

I placed chips in each place and frowned a bit.

"What about your family?"

Kiyo looked up at him, her silver eyes seeming frigid.

"It's possible," he mumbled, pointing to a place on the map that I presumed to be his family home.

I quickly placed a red chip there and pointed to another area on the map.

"This is a town isn't it? Predominately human I believe," I dropped a red chip over it. "I think it's safe to think he isn't going to be anywhere with too many vampires. Once they hear of this they will rally against him and he doesn't know if any of us will go to them."

"Right, our best bet is places with a high concentration of humans. Ichijou? Do you know if there are any others around the Academy or do we need a bigger map?" Kiyo spoke up, easing the tension that had somehow accumulated with the discussion of Takuma's family.

"You'll most likely need a bigger map. I can get you one." He smiled and began to stand but I grabbed his hand.

"No, it's fine. Unless you wanted to go?" I frowned a bit, snapping my fingers on my free hand causing the map to expand and cover more of the region around the school.

"No... I guess I forgot about your abilities," he smiled sheepishly before sitting down and cuddling me close to his chest.

I nodded and looked back at the map, scanning it carefully.

"I want to say he probably ran farther than we're thinking but the best and safest place to hide is out in the open. He's probably figuring we'll think he ran far so we won't bother to check the area nearby," Kiyo mused, glaring down at the map.

"You're right. We should start a sweep starting from here in the Academy and running outwards. Tonight would probably be smart. He'll just be getting settled in and is most likely to make the mistakes now." I stood and walked to my closet, pulling out a pair of loose black cargo pants and a black, spaghetti strap tank top before heading into my bathroom.

I reemerged in the outfit, the cargo pants low on my hips and the shirt small and tight. Snapping my fingers, my father's coat appeared in my hands along with a leather belt wrapped twice around my hips. A short sword and several daggers hung off the belt along with a quiver of arrows. The bow was strapped to my back along with a rather large sword. I was also now wearing black combat style boots. I looked down at myself and smiled happily.

"Alright Ki, let's go." I swung the coat around, thrusting my arms into the sleeves and settling it down over the sword and bow now concealed on my back.

The wolf demon jumped up, suddenly dressed in a similar way only with a red top and no bow, arrows or large sword. I knew from experience she preferred a short sword and a multitude of daggers that were hidden all along her persons.

Takuma looked at the two of us for a moment before frowning.

"You don't plan to take me along do you?"

Kiyo stared at him for a moment, frowning in thought.

"Well, considering you'll follow us anyway? Not in white, no." She snapped her fingers and he was suddenly in a black outfit similar to mine. Cargo pants and tank top molded to his figure, and let me tell you it was nice.

Looking at him, you think scrawny little book worm but under that uniform is a lean, built, sexy body that my darling wolf just accentuated.

Shaking my head slightly I regarded his sword.

"You only have the one?"

He nodded and I snorted in disgust.

"You can't do well with just one sword," I snapped my fingers and laughed as his expression became shocked.

"Oh they are just daggers. Settle down Ta-kun. I would have given you another sword but I think you'll do better with the daggers. And we probably won't even need them but it's best to be safe." I looked over at Kiyo as she adjusted her top trying to suppress her laughter.

"You ready to go now Giggles?"

Snorting, she walked towards my window and looked over her shoulder at me as she opened it.

"Just waiting for you to arm your boyfriend," she grinned as she jumped from the window.

I heard Takuma gasp and laughed a bit.

"What? You thought we would walk out the front door?" I shook my head a bit and walked to the window. "Do you think you can land the jump or should I catch you?" I looked back at him, genuinely concerned.

"I can land it," he murmured. "I think," he finished under his breath.

I smiled at him for a moment before tipping over the windowsill and falling towards the ground headfirst. I stretched my arms out in front of me and pushed as they hit the ground, flipping up onto my feet and looking up at my window to find him about to have a heart attack.

"Don't do that!" He yelped, eyes wide.

I heard Kiyo snort behind me and turned away to laugh as well.

He began mumbling something but I couldn't catch what it was as he jumped from the window. He landed with a thump and fell back onto his ass, causing Kiyo and I to laugh harder.

Once we got our laughter under control I looked at Kiyo.

"Are we going to split up and run our usual way or do your paranoid asses want to stick together?"

"We're sticking together this time. We cover more ground the other way but I don't want to leave you alone," Kiyo stated.

She was all business now, completely different from the playful wolf she usually was. Then again she was always like this during wars or any kind of battle. This was what she did. This was her working.

"Got it. Let's start with the grounds here around the Moon Dorms before moving out along the path ways. I don't think he'd be by the Sun Dorms but we'll check them after the paths. Then we'll run a scan of the main school followed by the surrounding forest. After that we jump the wall."

She nodded, clearly satisfied that I remembered how to run security sweeps.

And with that, we began.


	3. Chapter 3

We made a careful sweep of the grounds surrounding the Moon Dorms. It was easy enough considering the three of us had enhanced night vision anyway. It was almost surprising that nothing was out of place. Kaname wasn't here.

Kiyo looked at me and I nodded, slinking an arm around her waist before grabbing Takuma as well. With an easy grace I jumped the three of us over the wall leading to the pathways knowing the guard wouldn't open the gate for us at this time.

Once we landed on the other side I released them and began to stalk down the path, pointing Kiyo to the forestation on my left and Takuma to that on my right. I scoured the ground for any indication he had crossed this path recently, my nose twitching to find a fresh scent trail knowing Kiyo was doing the same.

The most recent trail I found was the one from him taking me away that morning so I went to my right to scour for the scent through Takuma's area. Again I found nothing.

"Damnit," I growled, kicking the dirt.

"It's alright Kie-chan, we'll find him," Takuma assured me, hugging me to his chest.

I allowed myself a moment to relax against him before pulling away with a sigh, "come on, let's go see if Kiyo found anything."

He nodded, following me closely but not silently.

"How come you're not calling her Ki-chan now?"

"Because she is not Ki-chan. She is Kiyo now. We are on a hunt that will lead to war. This is all serious business. It may not make too much sense but it's almost like she is two different people. There is Kiyo, the fighter, and Ki-chan, the playful little wolf demon."

I saw Takuma nod out of the corner of my eye.

"It makes a lot of sense Kie-chan, just like you are not quite the same when you are hunting towards war as you are now."

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked back at him.

"You're right… I am sorry Ta-kun. I should not have introduced you to this. Would you like to return to the dorms? I could take you there and rejoin Kiyo in no time at all," I frowned slightly.

"No! That's not what I meant! Kie-chan," he stepped forward and cupped my cheek, smiling down at me, "Kie-chan, I love you. All of you. This is just another part of you and I'm ok with that. I just hope I don't have to see this side too much. And not because I don't like it but only because I worry. I don't want you in danger."

My eyes widened considerably as I just gazed up at him.

"You… you love me? I mean I thought… but I wasn't…" I was cut off by his lips pressing tenderly to mine.

"Yes, I love you. Now we need to rejoin Kiyo and see if she has found anything as we have not found anything of consequence." He took my hand and began to lead me back to the pathway.

"Where do you think she'll be?"

"At the end of the path, probably leaning against the gate to the school, with a smug little smirk on her face. She hasn't found anything. She would have alerted me if she had." I laughed slightly and threw him up onto my back and ran full out towards where I knew my best friend would be.

And she was there, just as I had predicted. Leaning against the gate with that infuriatingly smug smirk on her face.

"_Happy now Kie? He admitted he loves you. Not that I didn't already know and I'm sure you already figured. I taught you well enough to read people."_ Her voice echoed in my head and, judging from the blush staining Takuma's cheeks, she had broadcast it to him as well.

I let out a frustrated growl and shook my head a bit.

"You're cruel Kiyo, or should I say Kay?"

With a snarl she lunged at me, which I sidestepped easily causing her to fall on her face. She recovered easily and straightened.

"Point taken Kieko. I'll let it go until one of our girly talks. Expect an interrogation then," with that she smiled widely and came to stand at my side.

Rolling my eyes I threw my arms around them again and lifted us onto the wall. Kiyo took up the lead and we walked, crouching low to avoid being seen, across the wall to search around the Sun Dorms.

Once we were there I dropped to the ground, not bothering to help them down, and winced.

He had been here. Recently.

Suddenly I was surrounded by growls. Dropping to a defensive crouch I scanned the area only to find Takuma and Kiyo snarling at my sides. Shaking my head I stood again and drew my short sword. It pulled free without so much as a sound as I dropped into another crouch and made my way to the right side woods. Kiyo took the left woods, leaving Takuma the path.

There was a method to this. His scent went right, and I wanted to kill him. Kiyo knew well enough he would stick to the woods and could have taken to the left side. The center pathway was the safest and we left that to Takuma. No sense in getting his hands any dirtier than they already were. But he didn't need to know this.

As I followed his scent I found Kiyo was right, suddenly he veered left. Following the scent I found him squaring off with Takuma.

"Son of a bitch," I growled, keeping myself hidden as I watched carefully.

"_Kiyo, he's still here. We were right but he came across Ta-kun on his way to the left side. I'm watching the two now… hurry."_

I tried to pay attention to the words they were exchanging but only found myself waiting. Kaname had the look of someone preparing to strike and I would not allow that to happen.

Just as I heard Kiyo announce she was on the other side, waiting as well, I saw Kaname begin his attack. With a feral roar I tore from the trees, raising my sword as I went.


	4. Chapter 4

I was vaguely aware of Kiyo grabbing Takuma and jumping out of harm's way. However, I was out for blood now. The pureblood had attempted to harm him…Kaname would not live the night.

I brought my sword down to attack the vampire. As I watched, he vanished. His laugh surrounded us. Kiyo glared at the trees near us as she put Takuma down and I felt my heart beat increase. I began to curse him in as many different languages as I could before attempting to find his scent again. It had vanished with him. Something wasn't right. My eyes grew wide as realization hit.

"Ki…he can jump," I told her. I watched as her eyes grew wide as well and her sword lodged in a nearby tree.

"Damn him to hell! Now I have to track him down! Damn vampire!" she snarled. She then fell silent as we both began to realize what this meant. Thankfully, our moment of astonishment was cut short by Takuma's voice.

"Jump?" he asked. "What does that mean?"

Kiyo sighed and grabbed her sword from the tree. She sheathed it and looked at me.

"Let's go back to your room, Kie. It will take awhile to explain this to him and we may as well be comfortable. Besides, the leech is long gone by now."

I nodded and scooped the pair up. I flew back over the wall and up to my window. We went inside and I dropped them to the floor. I snapped my fingers, putting me in my pajamas and flopped onto my bed with a sigh.

"I missed you bed," I grumbled, nuzzling closer to the softness. Two more flops followed me after a moment, one on either side of me as Takuma and Kiyo lay down as well. I began to drift to sleep when Takuma's voice broke me out of my trance.

"So…jump?" he asked.

My eyes popped open and I dragged myself into a sitting position. I prodded the wolf next to me and, when I didn't get a response, dragged her up as well. She glared at me, so I knew she was awake. I turned to Takuma and saw him already sitting up. I wiggled onto his lap. Kiyo got up and flopped in the chair, head on one arm and legs draped across the other. She then looked over at Takuma.

"Since you asked, I thought long and hard about what I should tell you. Since you already decided you'll be in this adventure, I've decided that you're worthy of the truth. The term 'jump' is used by Kie and me to describe moving from one plane of existence to the next at will. Up until this moment in time, we believed I was the only one able to do it. Basically, anything that has ever been written about or described, dreamt of or thought up exists somewhere in its own little plane. Kie and I don't know how or why I can travel at will through them, but I can and I am able to take others with me. It's odd, but hell I'm just odd. Now I've explained jumping." Here, her focus turned to me.

"What I want to know is how that bloodsucker figured it out. We've been trying to teach you for years and now suddenly he can? Something isn't right here."

"I know. It doesn't make sense. He must know something. As much as I hate to retract our agreement about prisoners of war…we need to figure this out."

Her eyes grew wide as she looked at me.

"You put that agreement into place, Kie…you said you couldn't do it anymore."

"Don't make it sound like you put up that much of a fight, Kiyo," I growled. "I'm not weak just because I couldn't deal with the things we were doing for someone else's fight!"

"I didn't… that's not what I meant, Kie-chan. I'm sorry if it seemed like that but it isn't what I meant. I just… you're right. That was for someone else and wasn't right. This is for us. This is our fight. Anything goes." Her grin turned slightly malicious, causing Takuma to flinch beneath me. I pushed the thoughts of torturing the prisoners with Kiyo alongside me out of my mind.

"Don't worry," she assured him, "You are safe. You've made her happy and she's laid claims to you. Even if she won't admit it…OH! Look at the time! I have to get to bed before I prepare. After all, jumping takes a lot out of you!" With that said she jumped up and ran from the room before I could say anything.

I started to get up and go after her but a pair of hands wrapped themselves around my waist and held me back.

"Let her go," Takuma whispered into my ear, settling me back into his lap.

I shivered and lay back against his chest, pouting a bit.

"You can't let her get away with that. It'll never stop if you do," I grumbled.

His lips ghosting across my neck stole all further protests from my lips.

"I think it'll be alright," he muttered, "now let's get some rest alright?" He shifted me off of his lap and moved to lie down beside me.

I just sat there for a moment, staring at the wall, before falling back against the bed. I rolled to my side that I usually slept on, which just happened to put my back to him. Next thing I knew his arm was draped over my waist and he had formed his body to mine, his breathing even.

I fell asleep easily, despite all that had happened and despite the fact I was laying with a vampire.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke instantly and completely, jerking up and away from whatever was touching me. At least this time I didn't swing.

Takuma sat up, looking at me.

"Did I do something wrong," he queried, looking genuinely concerned.

"Oh! No! I'm just… well I hit Kaname the time he slept beside me…" I admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head and staring at the floor.

I heard him shift on the bed just before I felt his arms around my waist, pulling me into a hug.

"Well thank you for not hitting me," he joked, kissing the top of my head.

Before he had time to pull away Kiyo burst through my door looking like she hadn't slept.

"We have to get to classes Kie! I was reviewing their laws and we could turn the Night Class to our side and use them as spies! It's brilliant, we can't exactly walk into a room full of vampires and tell them their pureblood is trying to kill you, but I think I know how we can sway them to our side!" She was rambling. She often rambled when she got so excited about her newest plan.

"Kiyo, slow down, I need you to explain CALMLY," I sighed, turning to face her as Takuma rested his head on my shoulder.

"Oh… yeah… sorry Kie. Well anyway I think Kaname is here still because he's going to try and turn the Night Class against you! There are several laws regarding dragons Kie! You guys are higher than Purebloods! Now there are only three ways that they won't follow a dragon!"

"If they fall from power, are defeated by another dragon, which we then follow instead, or if they become corrupt…" Takuma murmured.

"I'm a little on clear on how they fall from power or become corrupt. I figured you could explain?"

"Well they generally fall from power if they do something such as take a vampire for their mate. They are our gods and goddesses so we are considered below them and could never be on the same level as them. If they choose a vampire for their mate it is considered giving up their power and falling from grace. Now corruption is easy. It is simply when a dragon gains so much power it starts to abuse it. The council deems it corrupt and orders it slain."

"Alright well that's interesting… Either of those are possible for him to use against you. My guess would be corruption because you would end up dead. Sure he made you act like you were dating him so you would have fallen but it wouldn't have ended in your death. I think he's going to say you've come to Cross Academy to take over here. To start a war with the surrounding areas. I think he'll probably throw in that you're in cahoots with a demon and they're supposed to kill me on sight. We need to get to them first and prove him wrong. I know you can implant visions of your memories so you're going to have to play with some vampy minds here, but Seiren is probably the only one who will remain loyal to her. That's ok though, we can get information from her. Either way, Kie, we have to get them onto our side. Think about it this way, they can infiltrate the social circles of the vampires and find out what lies he's spreading about you there. We'll have a leg up and you know we'll need it."

I pulled away from Takuma, pacing the room slowly.

"Kiyo, I hate vampires. Ta-kun here is the only one I have ever been able to stand. You know that. I don't trust the leeches. I don't think they will sway."

"Kie-chan? You have me on your side. I'm just a step below Kaname and that will hold a lot of sway with the Night Class. Neither of you are bad or have any interest in taking over. It's all been Kaname here and I'm willing to stand at your side in this." Takuma's calm voice washed over my, stilling my nerves and my feet.

"Fine, I guess we'll do this but we have to move quickly. After this morning I think he will try and get to them tonight. Ta-kun? Would it be possible to gather them for a sort of meeting before classes?"

Takuma nodded and made his way towards my door.

"Meet us down in the entrance hall in twenty minutes please Kie-chan, Kiyo."

Without waiting for a response he made his way out of the door to rally the class together.

I turned to Kiyo and frowned slightly.

"Are we really doing this?"

She nodded, smiling.

"Don't worry so much Kie. Ichijou thinks everything will turn out fine and he's right. Their laws are on our side. We can prove that everything Kaname will try to tell them is wrong and lies. Just relax and get into your uniform. I'll come get you in ten minutes and we'll go over our strategy for telling them." Before I had the chance to argue, she walked out.

I sighed, going into my bathroom and quickly showering. When I emerged she was settled on my bed. With a snap of my fingers I dried my hair and replaced the towel I had wrapped around me with my Night Class uniform.

"White? Really Kie?" She raised an eyebrow at me and laughed a bit.

"I figure it will be easier to prove I'm not trying to take over if I look like I'm willing to fit in with them," I mumbled, fidgeting with the white skirt. "I hate white."

She laughed and patted the spot beside her on my bed. As I sat down she began to speak.

"You're going to have to get over your annoyance at being bowed to. You're going to have to show them you're a dragon and transform before them. I figured we would go with that first and then explain what is going on to them. You'll have to tell them your story about America, show them the cut you can't manage to heal that he gave you, and show them the memories to back up your story. I know you're going to hate every second of this, but I think it's the only way. And we want them to listen, which is why you're going to show them what you are first."

I shook my head, knowing she was right at the same time I wished she wasn't.

"I don't want to admit this, but you're right."

Her eyes widened at my admission.

"You know, I was expecting more of a fight. Well we've got about four minutes so let's get down there huh?" She jumped up and held her hand out for me.

I shook my head, drawing myself up to my full height and making my way out the door. My face looked as though I was on my way to the executioners block.


	6. Chapter 6

I walked into the room full of vampires and grimaced slightly. They were harassing poor Takuma.

"Why are we here Ichijou-san?" Aidou whined, pouting like a small child, his cousin at his side.

"Where is Kaname-sama?" The one called Ruka questioned, looking love-struck.

Rima and Shiki looked as bored as ever, but questioned my poor friend as well.

"Ichijou-san, what is the point of this?"

The noise was deafening and I threw my hands over my ears. I closed my eyes and curled in on myself a bit, Kiyo gripping my shoulder to keep me up even though I knew she was struggling worse then I was.

"Please! Everyone just calm down! It will all be explained now!" I heard his voice rise above the rest and felt his eyes on me. Suddenly the feeling was multiplied as the rest of the Night Class turned to stare at me as well.

"Kaname-sama's girlfriend? Where is Kaname-sama?" They yelled at me.

Unable to take it, I dropped to my knees, instantly changing into my dragon form and roaring at them to be quiet. As they fell silent I stood slowly, letting my size grow until I almost filled the room. Gazing at them with my golden eyes, I stretched my leathery black wings a bit.

"_Now you all know my secret. Will you be quiet so I can explain everything or am I going to have to remain in this form and keep you in shock to get my point across?"_ I growled in their minds.

"Please, oh goddess of the sky, we will be silent." I wasn't sure which one spoke, but it was good enough for me.

I dropped back into my normal form, keeping my wings and tail, and shook my hair out with a sigh.

"Thank you," I murmured. "Now, as you can see Kaname isn't here. That will be explained to you in time, but first I'm sure you're all wondering why you did not know about me and what I am. I shall take the time to explain this first. You might as well all get comfortable. This will probably take up the time we have until classes start and I will need every second of it."

As if to illustrate my point, Kiyo and Takuma pulled up chairs on either side of me, Takuma placing one down for me as well, and we all settled down. I kept my back straight and waited as they all sat as well.

"Now, as you all can tell I'm from America, not Japan. I only came here the year I joined this Academy. Up until then I had been travelling. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. Back in America, there are vampires. But they are nothing like the vampires here. There is no sense of order, no classifications. They are all pretty much as vicious as your level E's, even those who were born vampires. They are cruel, unfeeling, and vicious beings who do not honor dragons as you do.

"Where I lived, my family ruled over the town. We controlled humans, vampires and dragons alike. As well as many other races. Well, one night the vampires started to rebel and the first thing they did was storm into my home. They killed my mother, but my father managed to help me get away. They found him just after he shut me into the tunnel that lead me out of our mansion. He gave me specific instructions. I was to find a man named Dayrin. He was going to help me get here to Japan and to this academy. I was also given a letter for the chairman.

"I ended up in an alley just behind our mansion, and ran through the town. I didn't know how I was going to find this man but I knew I had to. I ended up bumping into a vampire who knew who I was. He began to chase me in an attempt to kill me. I got away but somehow ended up in a dead end alley. He and a friend followed me there. I cannot tell you what they planned to do to me because I was in such a panic I couldn't hear them.

"I remember looking down for a second and when I looked back up, they were gone. Just dust floating on the wind. In their place was Kiyo." I turned to look at her with a smile.

"She took me under her wing, promising to help me find Dayrin. And we did. To my dismay, he was a vampire. But he had come from Japan and was loyal to my family as the rest of you are to us dragons. Unfortunately I was too young to come here to the academy yet. I did not look old enough to make it in without suspicion. I had nowhere to go then, but once again Kiyo saved me. She and I travelled this world and other worlds as well. We have been together ever since that day and she has taught me everything I know.

"As a result, I've never been very trusting of your kind, which is why I asked to be in the Day Class and have no one know of what I was. The chairman graciously accepted my terms and allowed me to live as I wanted. Here is where the trouble begins.

"I used to help Yuki patrol now and then. Well one night Ta-kun managed to smell my blood and find out what I was. I forbid him from saying anything to anyone and it all seemed fine. Until I caught Kaname's attention.

"I don't even remember how, but Kaname found out what I am and found out my story. He was intrigued by the American vampires and when he took me from classes yesterday, it was to use me to gain control over them. He was going to sacrifice me to them to gain their alliance and form an army. I know you probably don't believe me but I can show you my memories and prove every word I say is true.

"Now, Kiyo and Ta-kun rescued me, but Kaname is still trying to kill me. He's in hiding right now but I fear he will come to you and spread lies to turn you against me. I do not want my name soiled for things I did not do. I have had enough problems with vampires and I realize my father was right. Not all of you are the same." I looked at Takuma with a smile here, pausing for just a moment before continuing.

"I come to you asking that you join me in this fight. You will never see battle, that is my grudge match, but I ask that you help me. I ask that you, the higher on your scales, go to the parties, the social events, and find word of Kaname's whereabouts. I ask that you find out what lies he's spreading about me. Again, if you do not believe me I can show you that he has done these things." I lifted my wrist to expose the scab that covered most of the skin.

"This is how he lured them to me in America. He cut me so they would smell the blood of a dragon once more. I can show you in your minds everything he did to me. I can show you my memories if need be, but I'm asking you to trust me. To trust Ta-kun who knows I have no ill wishes towards you. I know you think me a goddess, but I do not think that way. I think myself no better than you. I beg you to help me."

I turned my gaze to them, pleading them for their help.

I began to fidget when they didn't answer right away. I expected them to call me a liar and a fraud instantly. To tell me that I didn't know what I was talking about and demand that I show them my memories, which I was really hoping I didn't have to do. But it didn't happen. Instead, they looked between Takuma and I for a long time until he put his hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"We will help you Goddess," Shiki and Rima chorused, standing to move behind me.

"As will I," Aidou smiled, bouncing over behind Kiyo, followed closely by his cousin who just nodded.

One by one the rest of the Night Class agreed to help me and I sighed in relief.

"Please, call me Kieko," I smiled at them, standing and bowing to them all.

"I appreciate your help more than you will ever realize."

They shushed me and smiled.

"We should probably get to classes now, it's about time," Takuma told us.


	7. Chapter 7

I sat in the classroom, all but holding my breath as I waited for Kaname to burst in at any moment and rally them to his side. Hell, I was even a bit afraid that they would go, despite their assurances they would remain loyal to me.

My patience was rewarded about halfway through the night when Seiren suddenly appeared in front of the class. Her eyes were narrowed as she focused in on me.

"Dragoness," she spat, pointing at me.

"Seiren," I smiled sweetly as Kiyo appeared behind her and pressed a dagger to her throat.

"We're going to go have a little talk, leech," she snarled against Seiren's ear.

"Kie, I'll meet you where we've decided," she smiled at me before vanishing with Seiren.

I stood up, looking at the Night Class, worry evident on my face.

"Don't worry, we never liked her much anyway. We're still on your side," Aidou chirped, smiling warmly.

I smiled, clearly relieved.

"I'm going to go with Kiyo now and we're going to try and get what information we can out of Seiren. Please, stay here, all of you, and continue classes. I will need to know what I missed." I smiled, patting Takuma's shoulder before I vanished as well.

I ended up on my ass just outside of a shack in the middle of some desert.

"Kiyo, where the hell are we," I grumbled as I stood up and walked into the shack.

"Somewhere warm," she laughed, "now let's get to work."

Hours later we sagged into the chairs on the main floor of the shack, bloodied and worn out, but with no more information then we started with.

"I can't believe she wouldn't talk," Kiyo growled.

"I can't believe she didn't scream," I mumbled, trying my hardest to push the images of what we had done from my mind.

Seeing my struggle, Kiyo stood up and held her hand out to me. As I took her hand our clothes became clean and we were now just standing in the desert.

"Ice cream always makes you feel better. Let's get ice cream Kie," she smiled.

"Yeah, let's get ice cream. But none for you. You get frozen yogurt," I grinned, hugging my dearest friend.

When I pulled away we were standing in a dark alley in the town just outside of the academy.

"Do you know where the ice cream place is here?"

She nodded and took my hand, running off in one direction and pulling me along.

When we finally got back to the academy we were in a great mood. You would never guess we had spent most of our night torturing a woman into death to try and find out where Kaname was.

We walked into the Moon Dorms laughing, shopping bags in our hands, to find the rest of the Night Class in various stages of sleep in the entry way. At the sight of us they all jumped up, pushing Takuma forward.

"Kie-chan! Kiyo! How did it go? We all stayed awake to find out," he stated, smiling.

"You all… we didn't find anything out. She wouldn't talk. However, I hated what we did so we went to get ice cream and went shopping to cheer me up. We got you all presents!" I smiled, moving forward to hand each member of the Night Class a small shopping bag.

They all peered inside with various looks of surprise, except Rima and Shiki of course, only to cheer quietly when each found their favorite thing inside.

"There is also a small dragon figurine for each of you. For the girls it's on a chain as a necklace and for the boys it's just a small figure to keep in your pocket. We have charmed them to allow us to know if you are in danger and also to allow us to hear what you hear without having the potential to misunderstand something. Know that we will only listen when we know you will be in a social setting." Kiyo reported from my side, leaning against the wall.

I nodded, indicating what she said was true and Takuma hugged me.

"Thank you Kie-chan. This will help keep them at your side a lot," he whispered.

I smiled and squeezed his arm gently before looking at everyone else.

"I'm sorry you all waited up only to find out we learned nothing new. I'm going to go to bed now and I suggest you all do the same. I'm sure you're exhausted," I said softly before making my way up the stairs and to my room.

Kiyo followed closely.

"It's smart being nice to them. I watched their reactions to the presents. Kaname must have been cruel to them because they seem overjoyed at your kindness."

"You think I'm only being kind to keep them on our side?" I turned to look at her with a frown.

"No Kie, I know you're being kind because it's your nature. It just will help our cause. That's all I meant. Get some rest; you've had a rough night." She hugged me tightly, ruffling my hair before going to her own room and shutting the door.

I sighed, walking into my own room and laying on my bed, still in my uniform. I had been there only a moment before there was a knock on my door.

"Come in," I yelled, not even sitting up.

"You did not enjoy torturing her. Take a shower and I will give you a massage and a special dinner I prepared for you," came Takuma's voice.

I sat up and looked at him for a moment.

"It's not that I didn't enjoy it. I enjoyed it more then you will ever be allowed to know. It feels like justice. But it sickens me that there is that side of me. However, I do not want to talk about it so I will go shower and allow you to pamper me for the night. Thank you Ta-kun."

I stood and made my way into the bathroom to shower.

When I emerged I was dressed in a black "wife-beater" style tank top with a pair of lime green short shorts and knee high purple socks. I padded over to where Takuma sat reading the new manga I bought him and kissed the top of his head.

"Do you like it?"

He jumped slightly and looked up at me with a blush.

"It is very good; thank you again for buying it. Now I decided while you were cleaning up that I would feed you first just in case you fall asleep during the massage." He closed the book, smiling as he set it on the table, and stood.

He produced a blindfold from his pocket and handed it to me.

"Please?"

I sighed, taking the fabric from him and securing it over my eyes.

Once he had assured himself I could not see, he led me to what I assume was my bed, and sat me down to wait.

I heard him moving around the room and rearranging the furniture but I began to think back over what I had done. I was so lost in thought that when he sat beside me, I jumped and almost swung at him. Calming myself, I let him take my hand and lead me towards the center of the room.

He helped me into my chair and moved behind me to undo my blindfold. As the fabric fell away and I saw what he had set up, I gasped.

"Ta-kun… it's… amazing!"

"Kiyo helped," he admitted sheepishly.


	8. Chapter 8

I looked around and found that, in the time he had me blindfolded, he had set up a small table in the center of the room. There were two chairs, one of which I was now seated in, and candles on the table. There were what appeared to be black rose petals strewn across the room and there was a trail of candles and rose petals leading to the bathroom.

On the table were two plates, each covered with a silver dome lid, goblets of some red liquid, and a smaller glass of water. Upon further inspection I realized my goblet contained wine where his had a wine, blood-tablet mixture. Overall it was perfect.

"Like I said, Kiyo helped a bit… ok a lot," he blushed and scratched at the back of his head.

"It's got her touch, but only because she knows what I like so much. But I'm not sure who's idea it was," I admitted.

"Mine. I… well I've wanted to do something like this for you for a while and Kiyo came to me while you were… interrogating Seiren and told me that you were having a rough time and told me she knew I gave you that rose. She said if I had any other plans like that that tonight would be the time to execute them. I pretty much told her what I wanted to do and she gave me a list and a sketch of how things would be to make you happiest," he smiled down at me, moving to take his seat.

"I just want you to be happy and relax tonight Kie-chan."

I couldn't help but blush as he spoke, turning my attention to the tablecloth as my fingers picked at the black lace along the edge.

"Thank you Ta-kun. For everything. That rose, this, coming to save me with Kiyo, standing by my side in all of this. It means a lot to me," I looked up at him with a smile.

"Don't mention it Kie-chan. I love you, remember?"

"I remember," I smiled, "so what did you make to eat?"

"Ah yes! Well Kiyo told me you adore a medium-rare steak, delicately seasoned, with sautéed mushrooms, noodles in a nice alfredo sauce, and a baked potato with butter, sour cream and bacon bits. I'll admit that I do not know if the bacon bits were something specific so I just fried up bacon and chopped it into tiny pieces. I hope you enjoy it." He reached forward, lifting the lids off our plates and setting them aside.

As the smell of the steak entered my nose I groaned, "Ta-kun its perfect!"

"Good," he smiled, waving his hand at me as if to tell me to eat.

I smiled, picking up my knife and fork and beginning to eat.

Once I finished eating, Takuma stood, pulling out my chair and pointing me towards the bed.

"Would you please sit there for just a second Kie-chan?"

I nodded, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Trust me," he whispered as he blindfolded me once more.

I don't know where my mind went, all I know is it startled me, once again, when he removed my blindfold and kissed my cheek.

"Go on, go take a bath and relax," he smiled.

I stood, wrapping him into a hug for a moment before turning to follow the rose petals and candles into the bathroom, only to find a similar scene inside.

He had drawn a bubble bath for me and the room was only lit by candles. My pajamas were laid out beside two fluffy black towels and a robe. With a smile I shut the door and disrobed.

Dipping my toes into the water I found it as hot as I liked, and climbed in. I sank down to my chin with a pleased groan and lay my head back against the edge of the tub.

"Is it to your liking," I heard him ask through the door.

"Perfection," I answered, closing my eyes.

"Well don't fall asleep. I'll be waiting to give you your massage when you get out."

"Mhmm," I answered, smiling.

Just as my fingers started to wrinkle, I got out. I dried myself off and dressed in the clothes and robe Takuma had laid out for me and blew out the candles. When I walked back out into my room I saw that not much had changed. The paths of petals were still lined with candles, but the table was gone now and Takuma was seated on my bed.

I made my way over and sat beside him, smiling.

"Thank you Ta-kun. This has helped a lot."

"Lay down," was the only response I got besides a smile.

With a laugh, I complied, sprawling across the bed on my stomach. I closed my eyes as he shifted around on the bed beside me. Something clicked in my mind and I sat up onto my knees to remove my robe, dropping it next to my bed before lying down again.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but I do know that I woke up in Takuma's arms and managed not to freak out. Instead, I snuggled up closer to him and fell back asleep. For all of ten minutes.

Kiyo burst into my room, the door slamming back into the wall with the force of her enthusiasm. I shot upright, elbowing Takuma in the cheek as I did.

"Shit! Ta-kun I'm so sorry," I grimaced as he held his cheek.

As he waved me off I turned my fury back to the wolf demon now rubbing the back of her neck.

"What in the seven hells is so damned important that you come bursting into my room at this hour," I yelled, my voice a mixture between a roar and a snarl.

"Well we have some new information on Kaname's whereabouts," she grinned, completely unfazed by my rage which dissipated at her words.

Within seconds I was out of my bed and dressed in the outfit I had worn to hunt him a few days prior.

"What are we waiting for," I growled.

With a nod she took my hand and teleported us to his last known location.


	9. Chapter 9

I looked up at the large manor before us and frowned. It smelled more like Takuma than Kaname. Turning to her, my frown deepened at her sheepish grin.

"You messed up didn't you," I sighed, smiling a bit and starting to relax.

"Uh… not quite…" she trailed off and rubbed the back of her neck again.

"What do you mean," I growled, tensing up again.

"Well… he was here. Last night. I swear it to you, if you can get past Ichijou's smell you'll find that I'm right," she was calm, even in the face of my growing rage.

I sighed a bit but nodded, raising my nose a bit higher and sniffing. Suddenly I caught his scent and no longer cared that this was Takuma's family home. I charged forward, slamming past the doors and following the scent of that bastard through the rooms.

I finally stopped in what looked like a library, not that I was paying much attention as he was sitting in front of a chess board.

"Ah, I wondered if you and your bloodhound would find me here," he mumbled, toying with one of the pawns.

"I thought it would take a bit longer since you're precious Ta-kun's scent is everywhere here. Ah well, you'll never catch me!" He looked up at me with a cruel smirk and vanished before my eyes, his scent going with him.

I heard a startled yelp from Kiyo as she stepped forward to inspect where he had been sitting.

"Ok, so it was totally him and he can totally plane jump. Without a portal… Kie this is bad," she mumbled, looking back over her shoulder at me.

"Without… you mean… You're right, this is bad. Can you follow his trail?"

She started to nod and I gripped her wrist just in time to watch him vanish again.

I watched as he vanished again, a smug look on his face.

"Damnit!"

"Don't let go, we'll chase him," she growled, turning her wrist to grip my hang securely.

I simply nodded and we were off.

We followed Kaname to 30 planes that night before exhaustion took over Kiyo. Our final jump took us to my bed in the Moon Dorms where she immediately fell asleep.

Smiling I disentangled myself from her to go shower. When I emerged Ichijou was tucking her in. when he saw me he smiled.

"How'd it go," he whispered, starting to walk towards me.

"She sleeps like the dead until a sword is drawn, no need to whisper," I laughed, stepping forward to hug him tightly.

"Well where was he? Is it over?" Ichijou buried his face against my hair.

"How… uh… how about we go to your room and talk? You're going to want to sit down for this," I mumbled against his chest.

I felt him not before he scooped me up and carried me towards the door.

"I can walk you know!"  
"I know, but you look half dead," he chuckled.

"Oh thanks," I grumbled.

"You know you're still beautiful," he smiled, laying me on his bed.

I simply rolled my eyes at him.

"So where did he go," Ichijou asked as he lay beside me.

"Hrr grrrberrrs," I mumbled, my face against a pillow.

"What was that?"

"Your grandfathers," I whispered, fear in my eyes as I looked up at him.

The look of horror on his face made me squeeze my eyes shut tightly.

"I'm so sorry! At first I thought her nose was off but then I smelled him and he was there and I saw it and he was playing with a chess board! And then he jumped! He was gone! Just gone! And we followed him! To like 30 thousand planes! And then Ki got tired and here we are and I'm so sorry," I said in a rush, flinching away from him a bit.

He shook his head, still looking rather horrified and I hopped up off his bed.

"I'll just go steal my bed back from Ki, it's not like we haven't shared a bed before," I mumbled, backing away slowly.

"No," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Please don't leave me right now Kieko."

I shifted from foot to foot for a few moments before nodding and sitting down beside him.

!*!*!*Guess what! There might be a lemon here! Chapter ten will have two versions. One citrusy yummies and the other will be all fluffy but not yummy. ~*~*~*~


	10. Chapter 10

I gently lay my hand on his shoulder and rubbed gently. It only took a few seconds before his head fell into my lap, his arms winding around my thigh in a death grip. I shut my eyes and ran my fingers through his soft hair slowly.

"I'm sorry. I… I wish it were different and I'll understand if you can't stay with me. He is family after all," I whispered softly.

At my words, Takuma sat up, a glare on his face.

"Don't even say that. You are my family. You matter, that old man can die for being with that bastard," he hissed before pressing his lips hard to mine. His hands cupped my face as his lips devoured mine.

I moaned slightly and gently began to push him away only to have him grip my wrists and pull my hands around his shoulders. He pressed his form to mine and I hissed slightly as I felt his arousal against my hip. I felt him smile against my lips as he began to nibble on my bottom lip, causing me to groan and grip his shoulders tightly.

His lips trailed away from mine to find my neck, his fangs grazing over the sensitive skin and raising goosebumps along my arms as my head fell away to offer him more. I felt him shifting to his knees before he gently pushed me onto my back on his bed, my legs automatically wrapping around his waist.

"You know what you're starting," I whispered, the phrase more of a statement when I meant for it to be a question.

"Of course I do Kieko, are you stopping me," he asked between nibbles, his hands gently caressing my sides.

"Not exactly," I moaned as he found my weak spot.

"Then hush up and enjoy," he said, nipping a little harder at that spot.

My back arched and I pressed my form tightly to his with a growling moan that only caused him to grin. He pulled away to look into my eyes and I noticed that his were now red.

"I love you," he whispered, pressing his lips to mine before I could manage a reply. His hands found their way up to my breasts, squeezing and gently rubbing his thumbs over my nipples through my top.

I let out a pathetic whimper as my hands balled up in his shirt, pulling him closer as my hips jerked up towards his a little. I heard him groan as he ground his hips, his arousal, down into me as his lips returned to my neck.

As he sank his teeth back into my neck I moved my hands to pull away his shirt, and he sat back to toss it to the floor across the room. The second he was free, his hands were working my shirt up my stomach, but before I could sit up long enough to help him he let out a growl and tore it from me, throwing the halves away before pressing his lips to my collar bone.

I hissed in pleasure, my back arching to expose more of my chest to him as I drug my nails down his back, earning another pleased growl from within his throat.

Soon we were panting, hands everywhere as our fingers sought to know every inch of each other's exposed skin. Finally his hands found my pants, tugging at them hesitantly for a moment before I lifted my hips to aid him. With that simple gesture, he ripped them down my legs, my panties going with them in a single movement.

With vampiric speed, he had his own pants off and had himself buried inside of me before I could even blink. With a low, hissing moan I fell back to the bed and sunk my nails into his sides. He growled and began to thrust into me slowly until I shook my head.

"Fast, please! Hurt me," I whimpered to him while arching my hips up.

With a nod and a growl he complied, his hips beginning to piston into me at a blinding speed causing me to cry out in pleasure. His teeth found my neck again, causing me to whine and drag my nails down his sides, bleeding marks appearing behind my hands. At the smell of the blood he snarled, eyes snapping to mine with a barely hidden question in them. Without a word I nodded, turning my neck to offer it up to him.

He paused for just a moment, even his hips stilling before he sank his fangs deep into the right side of my neck. The second my blood began to fill his mouth his hips began to thrust faster and harder than before, easily throwing me into a mind-blowing orgasm. My body tensed, tightening around him in more ways than one. My legs tightened around his hips, my arms clamped around his shoulders and I fought back a scream, not daring to wake any of the others in the dorms.

He only managed to last a little longer after that before collapsing into a heap on top of me. He withdrew from me all at once, his core from mine and his fangs from my neck. He rolled onto his back and pulled me to his chest, settling the blankets over our nude, panting forms and kissed my forehead.

"Are you alright," he asked me softly as his eyes returned to their beautiful emerald once more.

"Of course," I smiled, pressing a soft kiss to his chest as I cuddled into him. "Are you?"

"I'm amazing," he smiled, holding me close as his breathing began to even out.

I closed my eyes, letting the blissful sleep take over.


	11. Chapter 11

I woke some time later with a chill and opened my eyes to find that Takuma had stolen all the covers. With a quiet laugh I slid from the bed and pulled on one of his shirts and my shorts before padding across the hall and into my own room. Kiyo was still sprawled across my bed and snoring so I grabbed a change of clothes and walked into our bathroom to shower.

When I came out she was sitting upright with a cheesy smile on her face.

"I would recommend showering before coming home next time if you don't want me to know you had sex," she giggled, tail thumping on the bed behind her.

I rolled my eyes at her and moved to place my clothes into my hamper.

"I have long since given up trying to hide anything from you. However, I didn't need the rest of the night class smelling him all over me like that," I stated.

Kiyo shrugged a bit and danced over to me.

"So how was it? Wait… I'm not sure I actually want to know though… was it good? How in the hell did you go from telling him that his grandfather has sided with Kaname against us to having sex," she ranted, her head cocking to the side as her mouth finally stopped.

"I don't know, it just kind of happened. And it was good, but I'll spare you details," I told her with a smile.

"But I'm such a masochist," she whined, "I like details."

"You don't want them," I told her before she suddenly gasped.

"He bit you," she exclaimed, finger pointing to the tell-tale fang punctures in the side of my neck.

"I let him," I sighed, placing a hand over the marks with a slight hiss.

"You should probably cover them before we go to class tonight though. I think biting is forbidden to begin with and you're a dragon," she said, rocking onto her heels.

I nodded before snapping my fingers to cover the marks.

"I wonder why they weren't healed yet. You usually heal pretty fast," she rambled on.

"I have no idea Ki," I responded, my voice sounding bored almost.

"You know, you're the science-y one, if it had been me you would be doing all sorts of cruel and unusual experiments trying to figure it out. Can I do experiments on you? It would only be fair," she said, inching her way closer to me with one hand outstretched towards my neck.

"Ki, I love you but I will break your arms if you come any closer to my neck and try to experiment on me," I glared at her.

Kiyo let out a bit of a whimper, her ears falling flat as her hand dropped.

"You're so mean," she pouted.

"Pout all you want but I won't let you experiment on me."

She huffed at me before turning to flop back onto her bed and look at me with a bit of a frown.

"What are we going to do about Kaname?"

I sighed, sitting on the edge of my bed and place my head in my hands.

"I remember something about a party tonight that all the vampires are going to, it'll give them something to do to feel useful. See if we can't find anything out that way. I was thinking we should pick up his trail again tonight, see where he went and if we can't just catch him and end this," I told her, rubbing my temples a bit.

"I think that sounds like a plan, but I think it would be better if we stayed here to listen and see if they find anything. The amulets we gave them won't transmit as well if we're jumping from plane to plane all night. And I'm still kind of exhausted," she admitted sheepishly.

I shrugged, smiling a bit.

"That sounds just fine with me. We'll turn this into a war room and see what we can plot out while they infiltrate. We should probably brief them," I sighed, looking around our room.

"Not a problem," Kiyo stated, snapping her fingers.

Gone were our beds, dressers, and piles of clothes. All our hard work at decorating the room vanished, leaving bare wooden walls with maps for wallpaper. Various pins were already placed in the areas we had checked and the planes we had followed Kaname to the night before. We were now seated in two almost throne-like chairs with high backs placed at opposite ends of a long wooden table. The surface was scarred with gouges and burns at our respective ends and covered with maps as well. At her right hand sat a huge book titled simply "War" and at her left lay her sword. At my right was my sword and on my left was a book titled "War Magicks" that lay crookedly on top of another book titled "Aerial Tactics". Our closet door flew open to reveal a small library filled with more books on the arts of war.

"We won't be changing this back until we've finished," she stated with a small smile.

"Where will you be sleeping?"

"Where I always do when we're warring. In the war room."

I nodded and stood, smoothing my shirt out and noticing she had changed our clothes as well. I now wore my black hunting uniform and she matched me. I smiled at her before turning towards the door.

"I'll wake the vampires for their briefing."

"Don't be long. We won't have much time before they feel the need to get ready, nobles that they are," she scoffed, now fully in war mode.

"Don't knock it Kiyo. They're all we've got on our side," I paused in the doorway, looking over my shoulder at her, "and we'll need all the help we can get. You know that as well as I."

Without waiting for a reply I stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind me. Figuring I should rally my best ally first, I made my way to Takuma's room and knocked lightly on the door.

"You can just walk in you know," he told me, smiling as he opened the door.

"I need you to wake the others and bring them to the… to the room I share with Kiyo. It will be referred to the war room until this is all over however. Will you be needing my help with this, or can you manage?"

He frowned slightly but nodded.

"I can get them, we'll be there shortly," he told me.

"Don't delay. You all have a party to attend tonight and will need your time to get ready. However we will hold you over to say everything we need to."

Takuma nodded and turned back into his room to put on a shirt.

"We'll be right there Kieko."

I turned away and made my way back to the war room, taking up my seat once more.

"Takuma is getting them together and bringing them here. It won't be long," I told Kiyo.

"It better not be," she scowled, looking up from her book with a bit of a sigh.

I rolled my eyes at her a little and nodded towards her book, "anything useful?"

Shaking her head, Kiyo let the book fall shut with a dull thud.

"Not exactly, not for this particular fight at least."

I nodded, propping my elbows up on my end of the table.

"Can't say as I'm surprised, this is a pretty unique situation. How do we always," I stopped speaking as there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Kiyo called, standing with her hand on her sword.

I placed a hand over one of the daggers on my hip as I stood a little myself, ending up in a sort of crouch.

Aidou pushed the door opened and stepped inside with a flourish.

"We have arrived," he declared, freezing with wide eyes as he saw the positions Kiyo and I were in.

I smiled a little, placing both of my hands back onto the table top.

"Come in, all of you, take a seat."

Kiyo snapped her fingers and there were suddenly enough seats around the table for each of them to sit. As they filed in one by one and took a chair, Kiyo and I stood, each moving to a marked map.

"As some of you may know, Kieko and I went following Kaname last night. He has already gotten to Ichijou's grandfather which means we need to work fast. Tonight you will all be attending the party as previously planned. However, you will also be given tasks," she began.

"I expect excellence. You will say very little on the subject, but you will be inquiring about their loyalty. Ask what they would do if another dragon were to come to power. If they would swear loyalty, then you will give them these," I finished.

As I stopped speaking, Kiyo moved forward and dumped a bag out onto the table. Out spilled several hundred tiny origami cranes made of black and gold paper.

"Each person who would swear loyalty to a new dragon is to get one. When they ask why, tell them that they will understand soon enough. After the party the cranes are charmed to deliver a message and then self-destruct," she said, smirking at me a little.

"It is the safest way to contact others and build an army. However," I began.

"If you even get the slightest feeling that you shouldn't trust someone, don't," Kiyo finished.

"Instincts are important, if you feel like you can't trust them, you probably shouldn't. We can't risk Kaname finding out what we're doing," I continued.

"Why not," Aidou piped up.

"Because, if he's not already building an army finding out that we are would make him start. We can't risk him getting to them before us. We have to move under the radar," Kiyo growled.

Aidou flinched and nodded while muttering an apology.

"Alright, any other questions," I asked, eyes scanning the room.

When no one spoke up I nodded.

"Go get ready and get out there. Remember, this is my life on the line. Please, I'm trusting you all."


	12. Chapter 12

Kiyo snapped her fingers and all the cranes were divided into individual bags sitting in front of each vampire.

"Take them and go," she stated coldly.

I watched them nod, smiling slightly. They got up and filed out of the room, bags in hand.

Takuma kissed me gently, pausing to ask, "do you two need anything else?"

I looked at Kiyo for a moment before shaking my head.

"No, we'll be alright. Go see what you can find out for me," I told him with a slightly larger smile.

He nodded and kissed me again before nodding to Kiyo and making his way out of the room, shutting the door tightly behind him. As it shut I dropped back into my chair and sighed, looking over the maps sprawled across the table.

"We are going to have to coax him back here, into the open, and fight him head on," Kiyo began, her eyes locked onto a map of the academy.

"I know. But how," I asked, summoning another map of the academy to sit before me.

"Haven't gotten there yet, but it should be here," she stated, pointing to an area on her map. This caused a small red spot to appear on my map where her finger was.

I stared at it for a moment and frowned.

"We'll have to have the chairman do something with the day class girls," I stated before groaning.

"What?"

"We haven't told the chairman what is going on yet. He's not going to be amused."

"Shit," Kiyo swore with a grimace, "you're right. We should do that now before the others leave. I don't want to leave the dorms unattended yet. I've not set up the proper traps to keep it safe."

I nodded and stood, looking out at the darkening sky.

"We'll have to walk like normal students. It's too bright to fly or run."

She nodded as well and stood, settling a light jacket over her form, hiding the daggers across her hips.

"Let's get going, I don't want to be long."

"Neither do I," I answered, walking out the door of our war room.

Takuma stood in the main hallway assembling the others nervously as Kiyo and I left.

"Don't bother waiting, just get out of here," I told him as we walked past. He simply nodded and ushered the others into the cars.

Once there, Takuma lead the others into the great hall where the other vampires were assembled for the party with a grimace.

"Remember your tasks," he muttered to the others before wading into the fray to find someone to talk to.

The rest of the night class split up, merging into the party and methodically dividing it amongst themselves without discussion.

I looked at the chairman with a nod.

"Thank you Chairman Cross. I had really hoped that something like this wouldn't happen when I came here."

"Oh it's alright Kie-chan. I promise. You look so much like your mother, did you know that? But that's not the important part, you act much like your father. And that will serve you well. I hadn't expected Kaname to be such a bad egg but I guess you get one in the dozen. Ah well, it will be fixed soon enough I assume," he rambled, turning to look at Kiyo who simply nodded.

"Alright then, I will evacuate all human students and teachers into the underground and send them off until this has finished. They'll be happy for the vacation. Now get out of here, I'm sure you have much work to do still." The man moved to hug us and we both allowed him to, surprisingly enough, before he skipped out.

"That went easier than I was expecting," I admitted to Kiyo who simply nodded.

"Back to the war room. We have a little more to do before the vampires return."

I nodded and we quickly made our way back to the dorms, hands on the daggers at our hips the whole way.


	13. Chapter 13

We made it back to the dorms without incident and returned to our war room.

"Traps," I reminded Kiyo who simply nodded.

"I wanted to discuss them with you first, and where to put them. And since you're better with magicks I will need a little help setting up the barriers to keep him from jumping straight into the dorms."

I simply nodded and dropped into my seat and opened my book, flipping through it quickly and trying to find what I wanted. With a soft sound I nodded, looking up at Kiyo.

"Think this will work?"

Kiyo studied the pages for a moment and nodded.

"Get to work," was all she said.

I nodded, closing my eyes and beginning on the intricate spell under my breath as she made her way outside to set up the perimeter traps.

When the vampires finally returned, we were exhausted, slumped across the table and communicating telepathically while pointing at our maps. But the second they knocked on the door we were on our feet, swords drawn. Until we remembered that we had set the traps, they had clearly gotten past them which meant they were the allies. Only then did we drop back into our chairs and mumble something that sounded like "come in".

My darling Takuma lead the parade, a huge smile gracing his lips as he took in our disheveled appearance.

"We all managed to give out all of the cranes. To everyone we spoke to. The whole party would be loyal to a dragon above all else," he said happily.

I smiled weakly up at him and nodded.

"Good, Kay? You know what to do," I told her.

She nodded, waving the vampires into chairs and snapping her fingers. A large origami crane appeared in the center of the table that looked just like the miniatures the vampires had worked so hard to hand out.

"This message is being broadcast to all who came into possession of a crane tonight. Only you can hear my voice. A new dragon has risen, but she is being opposed by a pureblood. We need your help. If you are still interested, go to the bookstore, "Quills and Ink" downtown tomorrow evening at dusk. This crane will self-destruct in 30 seconds. This message will not repeat," she stated, her voice frighteningly cold. She snapped her fingers again and the large crane vanished once more as her eyes met mine.

"Get some rest Kie, you'll need it," she smiled, her expression softening for the first time all day.

"I'll be fine Kiyo, I promise," I told her, causing her to shake her head and look at Takuma.

"Get her to bed please, I can handle the rest of the strategizing tonight," she told him.

"As for the rest of you, you're free to go," she said, looking around at the others who were also in various states of exhaustion.

Takuma nodded and moved to scoop me up, ignoring my protests, and together we lead a parade of vampires out of the war room.

I sighed, squirming a little in his grasp.

"Would you put me down?"

Takuma shook his head, smiling down at me.

"Nope, not until we get into bed," he laughed.

I pouted, crossing my arms and turning my head away from him.

"Not fair!"

Takuma sighed, kissing my forehead.

"Love, you're exhausted. You need to get some rest."

I shook my head a little, smothering a yawn against his chest before sighing.

"Maybe you're right. Fine. But only a nap," I told him.

I was asleep before he even got me into bed.


	14. Chapter 14

I forced myself awake an hour later only to find myself pinned to the bed by a vampire. He sighed as I moved again and opened his eyes to look at me.

"Will you ever just stay asleep," he asked me.

"What are you talking about," I asked, rubbing my eyes groggily.

"This is the fourth time you've woken up and tried to get away from me in the past hour. Four times Kie-chan. Four times. You need your rest, Kiyo told me to make sure you slept. Well I'm going to have to chain you to the bed if you keep this up," he sighed.

I grinned a little and kissed his cheek.

"That might actually be a wise idea," I told him.

"You do that and then go ask Kiyo how long I have to sleep before she'll allow me back into the war room please?"

He looked at me and laughed a little, until he realized I was serious.

"Kie-chan…" he trailed off with a frown.

"If you don't I will just keep getting up and trying to get back into that room and you'll never get any sleep," I told him.

He frowned a little more and shook his head.

"That seems so cruel," he stated.

"Fine. I'll try and get some sleep then," I mumbled, closing my eyes again and drifting off once more.

When I awoke the next time, I was alone. There was a note laying beside me and I skimmed through it quickly. Takuma had gone to class, Kiyo was still in the war room and refused to come out, and I had finally began to sleep peacefully so he wouldn't wake me.

I sighed and pulled myself out of bed and to my feet, making my way into the war room and dropping into my chair. With a laugh I saw that Kiyo was sleeping, her face planted in the spine of a book as if she had just suddenly passed out and fallen forward. I shook my head and stood up, looking over the maps across the walls and thinking.

Where in the hell could he possibly be? He had to settle at some point, but where? Nothing seemed to make sense to me anymore and the slash on my wrist had finally turned into a scar, but it itched. I felt like I was wasting time now and made my way back to my seat, flipping through the spell book to try and find something, anything that would help us find him.


	15. Chapter 15

~*~Kiyo's POV~*~

I had woken some time ago, but remained in the position I had fallen into. I cursed myself lightly for allowing sleep to overcome me at such an inopportune time. I couldn't afford for it to take any of the precious seconds I needed to track down this Pureblood trash.

As I lay there, I began to think of ways that we could possibly find this Kaname. It was so difficult. I scoffed at myself when I began to believe this. It wasn't difficult; I was just making it so much harder than it had to be. There had to be a way to get him to come to us, but what do vampires want above all else? Blood? Well, he could get that anywhere. He didn't need to come back just for that.

I didn't know what he would risk the jump into our plane for. What could possibly bring him to us? If only I had a way of…

I sat up quickly, eyes wide. I saw Kieko flinch slightly and she reached for her dagger. I knew I could catch this should it be thrown and besides, we had very important matters to discuss.

"Kie, I know how we're getting Kaname back here. I need you to come up with barrier spells to hold him back."

"Kiyo, what are you thinking?" she questioned.

"Not now. Just trust me. Make sure the barriers are up and won't fail. I won't be able to jump after this; I'll need all of my energy."

"I don't know, Kiyo…" she trailed off. I turned a glare in her direction, not even noticing when the vampires walked in.

"Don't question me now! When have I ever led you wrong? I have an idea and all I need for you to do is set up barriers. Do that please. I'll be back later," I told her. Not waiting for a response, I turned to run out and slammed into one of the vampires.

"Gods damn it! Get the hell out of my way, you clingy bastards! This is important!" I growled, pushing past them. I ran out the door and towards the area I always kept a portal to my home plane open. I was going to need some supplies.

If summoning works on demons, I'm going to make it work on vampires.

~*~Kieko's POV~*~

I watched Kiyo run out and shook my head a little before turning to the group of confused vampires.

"Don't mind her, she is always like this once she figures out what we are going to do to win. Now I know you all can fight but I'd rather you not. She's going to drag him here without an army I assume and there's no sense in all of us being worn out. Go on back to bed or whatever it was you were doing before," I told them, earning nods and muttered noises of agreement from each of them present.

Takuma looked at me for a long moment and frowned a bit.

"I don't remember you sneaking out of bed, but I suppose it's a good thing you did," he stated before kissing the top of my head and returning to bed himself.

I simply smiled and quickly made my way to the clearing Kiyo and I had decided on. Settling down in the center of the area we wanted, I began to mutter, easily raising the first of several layers of barriers I would have to place before our battle could begin.

When Kiyo appeared at my side, a triumphant grin on her face, I had finally finished laying all the barriers. I looked up at her with a weak smile and a bit of a sigh.

"So how's this going to work," I asked her, stretching my sore limbs.

"Well we're going to summon us a vampire Kie," she grinned.

She was calling me Kie again which meant she was sure we were going to win and was in good spirits once more, not that I was complaining.

"I've got our vampires staying out of our way, the barriers are finished, let's do this," I told her, pulling my sword free with a flourish.

Kiyo nodded and danced across the field to sketch something against the ground. She quickly scampered back to my side, pulling her own sword free.

"Let's hope this works," she mumbled.

After a few moments Kaname appeared where Kiyo had just been, a very confused look on his face. However his eyes grew wide when he saw Kiyo and I standing just a few feet away. He smirked for a moment and you could tell he was attempting to jump, but my barriers held strong. You could see the confusion flash across his face as he began to scowl.

"Ah, someone has caught on to my abilities. Points for being able to restrain me, yes. And points for being able to even get me here, of course. But how do you plan to defeat me when I summon my army?"

I snorted a little, Kiyo and I easily falling into our usual pattern. We slowly began to move, slightly circling him and keeping him trapped between the two of us.

"Go ahead, try and summon them," I taunted, crouching slightly as I readied myself to strike.

Kaname's face contorted in concentration once more and I simply laughed.

"Not going to happen," I grinned as my body snapped into action.

Kiyo moved at the exact moment I did, her sword leading her towards him just as mine lead me. However it wouldn't be that easy. Kaname managed to dodge just in time, leaving Kiyo and I to dart to either side to avoid hitting each other. When we stopped, he was laughing.

"You will have to be faster than that," he taunted.

I simply smirked, snapping my fingers and sending a barrage of daggers flying through the air towards him. Much to my dismay, he managed to dodge those as well, only to earn a slash across the chest from Kiyo as she charged him again. With a hiss he jumped away from her, a sword appearing in his hand from nowhere that he plunged deep into Kiyo's chest.

~*~Kiyo's POV~*~

I saw my opening and took it, but it wasn't right.

I felt a cold shock run through my chest and heard Kieko gasp. What was her problem? Why wasn't she attacking him? She should be taking her strike, I know I taught her better than this. But that's when the pain hit. I felt this sudden, sharp pain and it knocked my breath from me. I looked down towards my chest as I heard Kaname's laugh, only to see the last two inches of a blade protruding from my chest. I followed the sword to see that it ended in his hand.

My eyes found Kie's, and felt her expression match my own. Shock, dismay, what the fuck just happened?


	16. Chapter 16

Authors Note: KIYO AND I ARE NOT MAD AT EACHOTHER

I said I'd kill Kie and she said no kill Kiyo or the bad guys win. It was fully discussed between us and she is fully aware of her death. ^_^ Also, please don't hate me. I just didn't think it would be right of me to leave you all with some happy bullshit ending. So I gave you tragedy. Also, she wrote her own death. Only more proof we're not upset with each other. She figured, if she's going out it'll be with a bang... And I give you Kiyo's death.

~*~Kiyo's POV~*~

I turned to stare at the blade once more. My eyes were still wide. I had never been bested before. Never in my long, long, long life have I been wounded so. His chest bled slightly, but I didn't even make a deep enough mark to cause any kind of permanent harm.

The scar stretching from my left wrist up my arm and across my body to my right hip throbbed. It seemed that the vampire that gave me this mark was tormenting me from beyond the grave. Even that one hadn't hurt so terribly.

The vampire pulled away, leaving the sword in my chest. I looked back to Kieko and saw a look of astonishment on her face. I opened my mouth to tell her to take action, but some sort of strange gurgling was all that came out. It was painful.

A sudden cough erupted from my lips and I stared down at the ground. Blood was pooling at my feet. My blood I had to remind myself. Something warm was running down my chin. I lifted my shaky hand and touched it gently. I then brought it down to study it. More blood…Internal injury…That was the only reason it would be there.

A harsh laugh caused me to look up towards the Pureblood once more. He was enjoying himself. This was the end. I can apparently die.

Anger laced what little life I had left as I whipped around to face the vampire. I was going to die. That was it. Demons aren't immortal it would seem. I prayed to any heavenly being that may exist or be listening that there was some kind of afterlife and I didn't just cease to exist before I felt a burning growing from the blade.

If I was going to perish, I was taking this fucking bastard with me. I had used this move once before and it wore me out. I had no doubt in my mind that it would kill me in my weakened state.

'Since I'm going to die anyway, I guess it doesn't matter,' I thought bitterly to myself. 'Take care of yourself, Kie. Remember all that I taught you.' I didn't broadcast to her mind. I couldn't use the energy. I felt the portal to my home plane close and the binding spell used to keep the vampire here growing weaker. I knew Kieko's barriers would hold him to this plane, but I wouldn't be able to hold him into this clearing for very much longer.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in my chest. I felt the warm feeling spread through my body before it began to burn. I bit off a scream from the pain of my own flames ingesting my body from the inside out before my eyes shot open and I released everything I had.

~*~Kieko's POV~*~

I watched as Kiyo seemed to realize that she had been stabbed. Could she really not die? I was surprised. She seemed to want to talk to me, but all that happened was blood spewed forth from her mouth and coated the ground. I couldn't bring myself to move.

She stared at me one more time after touching her chin and looking at the blood before a glare crossed her childish features. She spun to face Kaname and I didn't know what to do. I had seen this look before and I knew that meant she was going to fight, but what could she do? She was just run through with a sword! The offending object was still protruding from her chest!

I suddenly felt the barrier beneath my feet beginning to weaken. She was losing the fight. I could tell this now. Her face contorted in pain and I watched as she bit her lip. I took a step back, a little nervous about the energy that she was gathering.

Before I could do much more, her eyes shot open and I watched in awe at the spectacle. I knew that she was a fire demon, but I had never seen her use an attack so vicious before. From her body, silver and red flames exploded. Waves of them covered the surrounding forest and washed over me. They didn't hurt me, but seemed to caress me softly. I knew it would be different for our enemies.

When the blast died down, nothing was left except the burning trees of the forest. I looked around and felt anguish grip my heart even as the vampires of the Night Class came forward towards me. I lost her. She wasn't coming back.

A laugh stopped me and I spun to face the source. My eyes widened. The fucker was still alive. She killed herself and he was still living? I felt anger fill every ounce of my core, growing and changing my body. I felt it devour every last bit of my soul, consuming me.

I fell to my knees right before I began to grow, my skin rippling and turning into scales, wings ripping from my back, my very bone structure changing into that of a dragon.

He wouldn't walk away from this, not now. Not when she had sacrificed herself so that we would win. She gave up her very life in hopes that we would defeat an enemy that had really only been opposing me. And now he's laughing? This will not stand.

My body stopped changing and I launched myself at that vile vampire, a feral snarl tearing from my throat as my claws sank into his chest. I quickly muttered a spell to reduce the damage I caused him, but not the pain. Didn't want him to die before I could put him through the hell I was now living. I drug my talons down, shredding his chest and healing him instantly before jumping away. I drug him along by a leg, slamming him viciously into the ground a few feet away before pouncing on him once more. I settled my weight, crushing his bones and relishing his cry of pain. I healed him again, this time sinking my fangs into his shoulder and ripping away the flesh and muscle, leaving bare bone behind. I slammed the back of my front leg into his face with a growl before I heard a cry from behind me.

"Kieko! Stop! Just kill him," I heard Takuma cry.

I looked behind me to see the Night Class, all variously disgusted, and sighed. I bowed my head and sank my fangs into his neck, ripping through the flesh and removing his head from his body. Finally I released my spell, allowing him to turn to dust and vanish from beneath me. I backed away from the spot and dropped onto my haunches just in time to hear Takuma vomit behind me.

"I… I'm sorry… I have to leave… I can't…. I can't be with someone that… I," Takuma stuttered, backing away from me in horror.

How wonderful, I lose my best, my only friend, and now I lose him too? I couldn't think of any way this could get worse as he ran away from me.

I don't know how long I sat there, staring out at the sunrise, but finally I had to move. I got up and wandered into town, knowing that I was stuck in this plane, I might as well find somewhere to live.

End.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Several Months Later

I wandered through town as always, heading towards the bookstore. I kept my head low and never said much, bought my books, maybe some coffee, and went home. It was a typical day for me now. But everything just had to change on me again didn't it?

I felt a hand snatch my wrist and I couldn't even find it in me to growl at them. Let them kill me, I thought, knowing Kiyo would have beat me for such thoughts. It wasn't Takuma I mourned for, after all, but her. My best friend.

"Stop being so mopey Kie, it doesn't suit you," came her voice.

God, I'm really losing it when I hear her scolding me in my head. I finally looked up to see who held my wrist, but my head barely made it to it's normal height.

"Ki..k…you're supposed to be dead," I whispered, fearful now that I was hallucinating as well.

"Well you can't keep me down that easy, where's darling Takuma?"

"He left me after… after seeing what I did to Kaname."

"Ah, well his loss, let's go. I've got the most AMAZING thing to show you," she shrugged.

I felt the familiar jerk in my stomach that told me we were jumping. When we landed, everything was different.

"Welcome to the 21st century," she told me with a laugh.

Kie and Ki's adventures continued at /t53-we-don-t-stop-till-someone-s-bleeding#204


End file.
